Bash Zsh Integration

Bash & Zsh Integration

This guide shows you how to use Forgum from Bash or Zsh shells. Forgum is a PowerShell module, but you can call it from any shell!

How It Works

Bash and Zsh can't run PowerShell commands directly, but they can call PowerShell with a command. We'll set up a simple shortcut.

Step 1: Make Sure PowerShell is Installed

# Check if PowerShell is installed
pwsh --version

If you see a version number, you're good. If not, install PowerShell first:

• Mac: brew install powershell
• Linux: See Microsoft's guide

Step 2: Find Your Shell Config

# For Bash
echo $HOME/.bashrc

# For Zsh
echo $HOME/.zshrc

Step 3: Add Forgum Functions

Open your config file:

# For Bash
nano ~/.bashrc

# For Zsh
nano ~/.zshrc

Add these lines at the end:

# ============================================
# Forgum - Fortune Cow for Bash/Zsh
# ============================================

# Show a cow with a fortune
forgum() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
}

# Show your own message
cow() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$*'"
}

# Get just a fortune (no cow)
fortune-cow() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune"
}

# List available cows
cows() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-CFCow | Format-Table -AutoSize"
}

# Rainbow mode toggle
rainbow() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; `$config = Get-CFConfig; `$config.lolcat.enabled = -not `$config.lolcat.enabled; Set-CFConfig -Config `$config; Write-Host 'Rainbow: ' + (if (`$config.lolcat.enabled) {'ON'} else {'OFF'})"
}

Step 4: Save and Reload

# For Bash
source ~/.bashrc

# For Zsh
source ~/.zshrc

Step 5: Try It!

# Show a cow with a fortune
forgum

# Your own message
cow Hello World!

# Just a fortune
fortune-cow

# See all cows
cows

# Toggle rainbow
rainbow

Show Fortune on Every Terminal Open

Add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Show a fortune cow when opening a new terminal
forgum

Advanced: Random Cow on Each Open

# In ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
random_cow() {
    local cows=("default" "tux" "dragon" "cat" "elephant" "doge" "bunny" "moose" "whale")
    local cow=${cows[$RANDOM % ${#cows[@]}]}
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -CowFile '$cow'"
}
random_cow

Sample Configurations (Copy-Paste Ready)

These are complete, ready-to-use snippets for common setups. Add them to your ~/.bashrc (Bash) or ~/.zshrc (Zsh).

Pattern 1: Basic Forgum (Fortune Cow on Startup)

For Bash (~/.bashrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Basic Fortune Cow
# ============================================
# Shows a cow with a random fortune every time you open a terminal.

forgum() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
}

# Show fortune on every terminal open
forgum

For Zsh (~/.zshrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Basic Fortune Cow
# ============================================
# Shows a cow with a random fortune every time you open a terminal.

forgum() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
}

# Show fortune on every terminal open
forgum

Expected output:

  ╭─────────────────────────────────────────╮
  │ The best way to predict the future is   │
  │ to invent it.                           │
  ╰─────────────────────────────────────────╯
            \   ^__^
             \  (oo)\_______
                (__)\       )\/\
                    ||----w |
                    ||     ||

Pattern 2: Random Thoughts + Fixed Animal (tux)

For Bash (~/.bashrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Random Thoughts + Fixed Animal
# ============================================
# Always uses the tux cow with a random fortune.

forgum_tux() {
    local fortune
    fortune=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune")
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$fortune' -CowFile 'tux'"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_tux

For Zsh (~/.zshrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Random Thoughts + Fixed Animal
# ============================================
# Always uses the tux cow with a random fortune.

forgum_tux() {
    local fortune
    fortune=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune")
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$fortune' -CowFile 'tux'"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_tux

Expected output: Same as Pattern 1 but always with the tux penguin cow.

Pattern 3: Random Thoughts + Fixed Animal + Lolcat

For Bash (~/.bashrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Random Thoughts + Fixed Animal + Rainbow
# ============================================
# Shows tux cow with fortune and rainbow colors.

forgum_tux_rainbow() {
    local fortune
    fortune=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune")
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$fortune' -CowFile 'tux' -Lolcat"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_tux_rainbow

For Zsh (~/.zshrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Random Thoughts + Fixed Animal + Rainbow
# ============================================
# Shows tux cow with fortune and rainbow colors.

forgum_tux_rainbow() {
    local fortune
    fortune=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune")
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$fortune' -CowFile 'tux' -Lolcat"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_tux_rainbow

Expected output: Same as Pattern 2 but with rainbow-colored text.

Pattern 4: Random Thoughts + Random Animal

For Bash (~/.bashrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Random Thoughts + Random Animal
# ============================================
# Picks a random cow each time with a random fortune.

forgum_random() {
    local cows=("default" "tux" "dragon" "cat" "elephant" "doge" "bunny" "moose" "whale")
    local cow=${cows[$RANDOM % ${#cows[@]}]}
    local fortune
    fortune=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune")
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$fortune' -CowFile '$cow'"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_random

For Zsh (~/.zshrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Random Thoughts + Random Animal
# ============================================
# Picks a random cow each time with a random fortune.

forgum_random() {
    local cows=("default" "tux" "dragon" "cat" "elephant" "doge" "bunny" "moose" "whale")
    local cow=${cows[$RANDOM % ${#cows[@]}]}
    local fortune
    fortune=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune")
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text '$fortune' -CowFile '$cow'"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_random

Pattern 5: Config-Based Toggle (Cow + Lolcat from config.json)

For Bash (~/.bashrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Config-Based Toggle
# ============================================
# Reads cow and lolcat settings from config.json.
# Edit config.json to change cow/lolcat without touching the profile.

forgum_config() {
    local config_file
    if [[ -n "$FORGUM_CONFIG" ]]; then
        config_file="$FORGUM_CONFIG"
    elif [[ -f "$HOME/.config/forgum/config.json" ]]; then
        config_file="$HOME/.config/forgum/config.json"
    else
        pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
        return
    fi

    local cow lolcat_enabled
    cow=$(python3 -c "import json; c=json.load(open('$config_file')); print(c.get('cow',{}).get('file','default'))" 2>/dev/null || echo "default")
    lolcat_enabled=$(python3 -c "import json; c=json.load(open('$config_file')); print('true' if c.get('lolcat',{}).get('enabled',False) else 'false')" 2>/dev/null || echo "false")

    local lolcat_flag=""
    if [[ "$lolcat_enabled" == "true" ]]; then
        lolcat_flag="-Lolcat"
    fi

    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text \$(Get-Fortune) -CowFile '$cow' $lolcat_flag"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_config

For Zsh (~/.zshrc):

# ============================================
# Forgum - Config-Based Toggle
# ============================================
# Reads cow and lolcat settings from config.json.
# Edit config.json to change cow/lolcat without touching the profile.

forgum_config() {
    local config_file
    if [[ -n "$FORGUM_CONFIG" ]]; then
        config_file="$FORGUM_CONFIG"
    elif [[ -f "$HOME/.config/forgum/config.json" ]]; then
        config_file="$HOME/.config/forgum/config.json"
    else
        pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
        return
    fi

    local cow lolcat_enabled
    cow=$(python3 -c "import json; c=json.load(open('$config_file')); print(c.get('cow',{}).get('file','default'))" 2>/dev/null || echo "default")
    lolcat_enabled=$(python3 -c "import json; c=json.load(open('$config_file')); print('true' if c.get('lolcat',{}).get('enabled',False) else 'false')" 2>/dev/null || echo "false")

    local lolcat_flag=""
    if [[ "$lolcat_enabled" == "true" ]]; then
        lolcat_flag="-Lolcat"
    fi

    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Text \$(Get-Fortune) -CowFile '$cow' $lolcat_flag"
}

# Call on startup
forgum_config

To toggle lolcat: Edit your config.json and set "enabled": true under lolcat. No shell config changes needed.

Advanced: tmux Status Bar

If you use tmux, add this to ~/.tmux.conf:

# Show a fortune in the tmux status bar
set -g status-right "#(pwsh -NoProfile -Command 'Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-Fortune' 2>/dev/null)"
set -g status-interval 300

What Each Command Does

Command	What It Does
pwsh	Starts PowerShell
-NoProfile	Doesn't load PowerShell's profile (faster)
-Command	Runs the following PowerShell code
Import-Module Forgum	Loads Forgum
forgum	Shows cow + fortune
forgum -Text	Shows cow with your message
Get-Fortune	Returns just a fortune
Get-CFCow	Lists all cow characters

Troubleshooting

"pwsh: command not found"

• PowerShell isn't installed. See Step 1 above.

"Import-Module : The specified module 'Forgum' was not loaded"

• Forgum isn't installed. Go to Getting Started.

No output when running forgum

• Try running the pwsh command directly to see error messages.

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